The devastating floods that struck parts of Assam and Nagaland have understandably triggered questions about their causes. But the debate must not become a contest of competing allegations. The way forward lies in evidence, transparency and cooperation.
Recent claims have pointed in different directions. A river expert has linked the severity of flooding in Upper Assam to heavy rainfall combined with forest loss in Nagaland’s upper catchments. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, meanwhile, has said scientific assessments and satellite imagery should first establish what happened, while the Konyak Union has rejected claims that a Dikhu dam or Naginimora coal mining caused the floods.
These positions underline precisely why an independent, multidisciplinary investigation is necessary.
The Assam and Nagaland governments should jointly commission a scientific assessment involving hydrologists, geologists, meteorologists, environmental scientists and disaster-management experts. Rainfall records, river discharge, satellite imagery, land-use changes, forest cover, sediment loads, landslides and drainage patterns should all be examined. The findings should be made publicly accessible.
The investigation should not be about assigning blame to one state. Rivers do not recognise political boundaries, and neither do ecological consequences. What happens in an upstream catchment can have serious implications downstream. That makes interstate cooperation not merely desirable but essential.
The immediate priority, however, must remain relief and rehabilitation for affected communities on both sides. Once the emergency phase passes, Assam and Nagaland should establish a permanent joint mechanism for sharing rainfall, river-flow and early-warning data and coordinating disaster response.
At the same time, the floods should prompt a serious examination of forest degradation, road construction, mining, land-use change and other human pressures across vulnerable catchments. If scientific evidence establishes that degraded forests are worsening runoff and erosion, restoration and conservation must become central to flood policy.
The tragedy should therefore become an opportunity. Assam and Nagaland need fewer accusations, more data, fewer claims, and a greater commitment to scientific inquiry. The real question is not who to blame, but what can be done together to prevent the next disaster from becoming another catastrophe.
